A social group is a group of people who interact with each other usually because they have something in common with each other, which could be their gender, their experiences, their personal situation, etc. This may to be to offer mutual support to each other, or gain advantages for themselves because of the relationships they have.

Examples of these are: Men Women Children Victims Villains Heroes Police force (e.g. police detectives)

The Villains or antagonists of any film are usually central to many films’ plots as they cause bad

things to happen within the storyline, and then this is left up to the hero or protagonist to rectify

this and stop them from causing further damage. Sometimes the villains have once played the

role of a hero or even a victim, and something that has happened to them made their nature

and motives change.

Our villain’s identity is kept hidden throughout the opening, and none of the camera shots

really reveal his face, so it is a mystery to the audience who he might be and why he was

motivated to kill the officers’ young daughter. This creates suspense and tension, as this is one

of many questions that go unanswered, so that if we were to make the rest of the film they

would hopefully be intrigued to find out why this might be. The theme of identity is very

common within the thriller genre, as it can be confusing and intriguing at the same time to the

viewer, especially if it is a case of mistaken identity or a person having multiple identities.

The villain in our story is similar to John Doe, the villain from the thriller Se7en (1995). During the

opening of Se7en, his identity is also kept hidden, and his personality and potential motives are

only shown through his work. He is shown cutting up pictures, sticking them onto pages,

drawing faces, and making scribbled notes, indicating that he is formulating a plan, but the

audience are unaware of it at that point. Later on in film, he is revealed to be a psychopathic

serial killer, and he is also seen carrying out the murders of multiple people, which seems to be

what he was planning before. This is different to our film because the person’s actual identity

and motives are revealed, and our villain only kills one person. He also seems to have no

empathy for his victims or takes pity on them, which is similar to our villain, as shown by the way

he flees as soon as he has killed the girl, and shoves the officer out of the way, so that he does

not block his exit. This makes them seem more cold and distant, so that their role as the

antagonist is easier to believe.

In our film, there is use of cinematography, even though the camera does not move around that much. Our villain, despite his face not being shown, is shown from a

number of different angles. The first shot we see of the villain is when the camera pans around from the scene showing the little girl sat on her father’s lap. She gets up, hugs her dad and then skips out of the room, the camera following her around, and goes past the window and shows in the dark outside the front door, a mysterious figure is trying to get inside the house. The shot is a mid straight one, and because it is dark, it only reveals the upper body of the character, and the only thing that the viewer can see is that he is wearing a dark hoodie, which may suggest that he is trying to blend into his surroundings, and does not want to be seen. He is then seen in the same shot entering the house, without the other characters inside knowing. This immediately makes the audience fearful as they do not know what his motives are, or who he is in relation to the other characters.

The next shot is a low angle, and the way the shot is framed makes the viewer able to see the whole scene. The only part of the villain that can be seen is his loose hand just in shot, and he is seen tensing and relaxing his fingers for a moment, suggesting that he may be preparing to do something. Just as he does this, the little girl from the previous shot walks in and does not notice the man standing in the doorway, and calmly begins to climb up the stairs, presumably going to bed. When she reaches about halfway up the stairs, the villain suddenly gets out a gun, which is shown directly in the front of the camera, which is what the viewer then focuses on, as the girl is shown reaching the top of the stairs, and is blissfully unware of what is about to happen. This shocks the audience and makes them even more fearful, as they were not expecting this to happen, and worry that the little girl is now in danger from a threat that she is not aware of, and the audience still does not know who the man is.

The following shot remains in the hallway, except this time the camera is at about shoulder level, and straight on facing the villain from behind, with his hood still up so the audience still cannot see who he is. He seems to still be contemplating following the girl upstairs when suddenly the door to the right of him opens and the officer, the main character comes through, the camera pans across to the left to follow the action and he immediately goes to knock him out of the way, and the two begin a struggling and fighting. The villain manages to push the officer out of the way, and there is then a match on action, where the officer falls onto the stairs when the villain shoves him and starts to run up the stairs. The action is completed showing the action from the top of the stairs looking down, and the villain moves swiftly past the camera and out of sight. The next shot shows the camera returning to nearer it’s original position, this time closer to the stairs pointing up, showing the villain disappearing around the corner at the top of the stairs, and the officer is seen struggling to his feet and attempting to follow him. The makes the audience even more fearful, as they know that the situation is probably not going to end well and the officer is not there to protect his daughter.

The officer is then seen running up the stairs, around the corner to the closed bedroom door, which he throws open and inside sees his daughter being held in a tight grip by the villain. When the narrative returns to the past, the camera is outside the room, at group level, and shows the villain lift the girl up, shoot her and she falls lifeless onto the bed behind. Meanwhile, the villain is seen pushing the officer out of the way, and he stands frozen as the villain sprints across the landing and out of sight. In the final shot of the villain, from the top of the stairs facing down on the action, the villain is seen continuing his sprint down the stairs and throws open the door and out of sight.

There is a tense and dramatic score played throughout the opening, and this changes as the scene

differs, for example it changes slightly when the flashback is playing, the score is more upbeat and

heightens the sense of fear and the anticipation for the audience what is going to happen next. We

used only a few editing techniques for this part of the scene, which includes the use of black and

white to represent the scene has returned to the past, and is a flashback for the officer, and the

flashes of light used to transition to and from the flashback.

The mise-en-scene components were carefully considered in order to create the effect that we

wanted. The costume of the villain is very simple, and effective, as he is dressed in plain black

clothes, with his hood up, so that his identity is concealed throughout the opening. His body

language his very tense, shown by the way he clenched his fist and stands hunched, but he seems

determined to carry out whatever he had come there to do, and since his face is not revealed, no

facial expressions can be seen to guess what his motives were. This therefore means that not much

was used in the way of hair and makeup, as the audience would not be able to see it anyway. The

setting of the house is used to make the situation seem as normal as possible at first, and it turns into

a scene of tragedy later on , which does not usually happen in family homes. The villain is positioned

in the way that he is to give the impression that despite being a mysterious and aloof figure, he has

the situation under his control, and it goes exactly how he wanted it to go. The only real prop that is

used is the hand gun, which is used to signify the danger that the little girl is in, and how, once

again, the villain has all of the power in his hands, as he can make the choice whether or not she

lives or dies. There is not much light used in the scene to signify the darkness of the situation they are

in, and also it is a traditional convention of thrillers. The black and white colouring is used for the

same reason.

The victims in many films are portrayed as weak and vulnerable, and usually suffer at the hand of the villain. They can be targeted specifically for a number of reasons, which could be, for example because of their gender or colour, but usually they are persecuted for purposes of revenge. This can be against the person themselves, or a loved one of the person as this will hurt them more.

This is the case with our film, as our victim is a young, innocent girl whose brutal murder is shocking to the audience, and it may also make them feel angry as she has not done anything to deserve her fate. The villain may be trying to seek revenge for something that the officer has done in the past that may have hurt him, but if there is a specific reason, this is not revealed to the audience. This course of action has the desired affect as the officer is devastated at her untimely death, and so is the audience as she is very young, and it could also lead to feelings of anger and resentment towards the killer.

Similar characters to our young girl are the young girls featured in the opening of the Woman in Black (2012). It is set during Victorian times, but the concept of the girls being young and innocent is still there, as they are dressed in traditional dresses, with bows in their hair, and are seen playing with dolls, which further reinforces the idea of them being innocent, harmless young victims whose fate befalls them due to events and actions outside of their control, as the spirit of the woman who haunted the house possessed them and made them jump out of the window to their death. Despite our films being set in different times, hundreds of years apart, the shock factor is stil l there, as the audience do not except something so sudden and brutal to happen, and especially not to children. However, this setting and storyline seems more appropriate for the Woman in Black as it is more of a horror film, where these events happen more frequently so are expected more by the audience. Although deaths of victims is not uncommon in thrillers, they are not always as brutal, or happen to young children. Another example of a young child’s death having a profound effect on the main characters and the narrative is Face Off (1997), when the main character is seen playing at a carnival with his young son, when a lone hit man outside of the scene shoots and kills him, when the bullet was presumably for him. His grief and shock is evident when he discovers that nothing can be done for him, and this manipulates the viewer’s feelings too, as they are left shocked and angry at his untimely death and question why it had to happen to him. The concerned parent theme is similar to ours, shown in the way that both characters cradle their children, looking grief stricken. This then sets the tone for the rest of the film, as there is now a backstory for the main character and a reason for what motives him.

The first shot that our victim is shown in is in the first shot of the flashback, where the camera is positioned at a low angle looking up at the family scene, showing the little girl sat on her father’s knee on the chair, and they are seen watching the TV out of shot. The shot then changes and switches to outside of the house, with the camera in a straight angle wide shot looking in through the window with the characters still in the same position. The little girl is then seen turning around and hugging her father, and then jumps off his knee and is seen skipping out of the room, and the camera pans around following her until she goes out of sight through a door. The camera continues to pan and the villain is seen trying to enter the house, which makes the viewers very concerned for her safety.

The next shot shows her totally unaware of the danger behind her climbing up the stairs to bed, shown by the carefree way she swings her arms about. A while later, after the fighting and the villain and officer running upstairs to her room, she is shown being held tightly by the villain, and staring up at her father who has just entered the room, looking scared. After the narrative returns to the past, the camera is now outside of the room looking in through the open door, and the little girl is seen still being held by her captor, and suddenly he releases her and shoots her, and she falls backwards onto the bed. The villain is seen fleeing the house and now crime scene, and the next shot shows the officer sat back on the bed, cradling his lifeless daughter in his arms and crying over her. The camera moves slowly back to reveal a photograph of the pair taken before she died, with the officer and the girl in his arms still visible in the background of the shot. The makes the viewer feel very angry and sad at the same time, as they feel as if she was innocent and did not deserve her fate, and shocked that someone so young was killed.

The editing techniques that are used are as before, as the little girl only appears in the flashback

sequence, which is the same as the villain, as with the sound, as the score remains the same also.

The costume that the little girl is dressed in is her pyjamas, which is appropriate for young children, and

reinforces the idea that she is a young, innocent child that has done nothing wrong, and was just going

to bed when the tragic incident occurred. The setting is the same as before, as the homely environment

makes the viewer feel as if she is safe and cared for, and most importantly, that nobody can harm her,

and she has no props. The lighting and colour of the scene are the same as before to continue with the

flashback theme.

Since we wanted to continue the theme of her being young and innocent, she kept her hair the same

and wore no makeup, as this young reflect young children’s appearances in real life. Her facial

expressions most of the time are happy and carefree, as she seemingly has nothing to worry about, and

she seems to happy to be with her dad. Her body language mirrors her facial expressions, as she skips

out of the room and up the stairs, showing once again she has no concerns and is unaware of the

danger that she is in until later on. When the villain holds onto her later on though, her expression

changes to one of shock and fear, and the audience can tell that she is scared because of her

wiggling, trying to get away, but to no avail. The audience cannot see her facial expression when she

gets shot, and she is seen looking peaceful when she is held in her father’s arms.

The girl is positioned in the way that she is to get across to the viewer that the relationship between the

girl and her father is very close, shown by the way he put his arm around her and hugged her. She is

shown walking up the stairs with the gun in the foreground to show where she was in relation to the

danger that is awaiting her. She is positioned being held by the villain to show how vulnerable she is in

this situation, and her being held by her father once again demonstrates the closeness between the

officer and his daughter, and his devastation at her being taken away from him at such a young age.

This is demonstrated finally by the photograph of the pair, which shows that they meant a lot to each

other, and the sad image of him cradling her is shown in the background.

The heroes or protagonists are important in any film, as they help to continue the narrative and are usually central to the plot. Also, the role of the hero can be versatile and be any person, and will usually be the last person the audience expects to be selected for that role. This is because many films make the hero a seemingly ordinary person in an extraordinary situation, and they are the majority of the time, unaccustomed to danger. This makes it intriguing for the audience as they get to see how they deal with a variety of different situations thrown at them, and whether or not they manage to save the day in the end, which they usually do.

Our hero seems to be in a similar situation, except for the fact that he is a police officer, which means he would have experienced violence and danger that most people might not have, but not on a personal level or as traumatic as losing his young daughter. This turns him into a character that seems to like solitude, and that such a sad event has a profound effect on his life, despite the fact that many years have now passed since this happened. This may be the reason why he may be having an identity crisis of some sort, as he is struggling to carry on life without his daughter, and is in two minds about what to do about this particular case he is working on. This is because he still has a sense of duty towards his job, and wants to uphold the law, but at the same time, the striking similarity of the older girl on the run from the police to his daughter makes him question everything he knows and he also wants to help her.

Our main character is similar to a character featured in the thriller Primal Fear (1996) called Aaron Stampler, who is a young altar boy accused of murdering an Archbishop. He has a stutter, and is described to be shy, so the attorney in charge of his case is surprised but decides to take him on. Later on in the film, when the attorney had discovered that he lied about something and confronted him, the boy’s personality suddenly changes, and he adopts a new persona, calls himself Roy and is a violent sociopath that throws his attorney against the wall. However, despite this, after the incident occurred, he had no recollection of it. A psychiatrist later examines him, and becomes convinced that he suffers from multiple personality disorder, due to years of violent abuse from his father. This character’s disorder is more developed and more extreme then the kind that our main character appears to have, and this is not confirmed at any point during our film.

In many thrillers, the presence of some sort of law enforcement organisation is always there, whether or not it is an important part of the narrative. The police force are usually portrayed as strong and powerful people who will stop at nothing to capture and detain those who have broken the law, and the majority of the time, the public is co-operative with them, in order to help justice prevail and restore peace to the community. However, this traditional image is not always the truth, as insome films the police are seen as a corrupt organisation that break the law rather than uphold it. In these cases, their attitude is usually the opposite, and do not care for other people, and often mistreat them, especially if it they get in the way of their moves and motives.

Not much is revealed once again about our chief of police, as he only appears briefly. However, from the setting he is in, which is his office at the station, reveals that he is dedicated to his job, and that he is determined to see this particular case through. This is shown by the information wall behind him being covered in pictures and scribbled notes, with some crossed out, and also reveals that the case has being open and investigations into the girl have been going on for a long time. Untilnow, they do not have seemed to find anything significant, and from the information relayed from the chief to the officer, itseems that they have finally made some sort of breakthrough, and discovered the location of the girl. The chief’s notes on the case are also scattered across the desk showing that he is fully involved in case, and by his hunched posture over the desk and loose, more casual clothes suggests that he may have been suffering with stress as a result of the ongoing investigations.

Our police chief is similar to Captain Sean Renard from the TV series Grimm (2011-present). He is also a hard working police chief, and cares about his officers and gets involved in all investigations, even if it involves aspects of his personal life. This is similar to our chief as they are both dedicated to their jobs and want to see most investigations through. This can also cause acertain amount of stress, especially if the case goes unsolved for a long time, which is similar to our character.